In many areas of the country, such as the Midwest, upper Midwest and Northeastern part of the country, most of the fresh water lakes are used for recreational purposes in conjuction with lake access docks. Because the fresh water lakes will freeze over in the Fall, the docks must be removed from the lake after the summer recreation season and before freezing in the Fall. It is therefore essential that the dock be removable from the lake.
Heretofore, it has often proved difficult to design a dock system which has stability during the use season and yet is capable of easy installation and disassembly. Ease of assembly and ease of disassembly are important for obvious reasons as heretofore mentioned.
Stability of the dock system is important during its usage. Typically stability is measured by the resistance to lateral displacement of the dock planks as well as lateral displacement of the entire dock. In addition, stability is measured by the tendency of the dock for vertical displacement to disorient the dock from a level position. During use, lateral displacement is often caused by the pressures exerted on the dock by people walking back and forth during dock usage, as well as using the dock as leverage when either climbing into or out of the water. Vertical displacement often occurs during periods of high waves wherein the waves actually slap up against the bottom surface of the dock, causing upward displacement with the result being that the dock leg posts are pulled upwardly out of their secured position to the lake bottom.
Other disadvantages of many dock systems presently in use involve the fact that the moisture continually subjected to the dock frame often causes rusting of parts together which makes assembly and subsequent disassembly very difficult. Thus, dock systems which employ locking set screws or the like are often very unsatisfactory, in that the screws become rusted making removel difficult if not impossible.
Another potential problem area for dock systems involves the attaching means of planks to the top portion of the dock frame. A good dock must be attached by means which allows the upper plank surface to be entirely free from mechanical fastening means and yet must provide a plank support surface which is stable and yet easily removable for winter storage.
This invention has as its objects, the building of a dock system which satisfies all of the above needs. In particular, the dock system is of improved stability in that it involves means for preventing significant lateral movement of the dock when in use, it involves means for detachably but securely fastening planks to the dock frame, it involves a dock which can be conveniently and easily leveled, as well as a dock which will not be vertically upwardly pulled from the water by the impact of waves on the under surface of the dock.
In addition to all the above advantages, the dock system of this invention is conveniently and easily assembled in the spring and disassembled in the fall. Moreover, the dock system of this invention avoids the use of locking set screws which have the potential of being frozen into position by rusting, making removal difficult if not impossible. Finally, the dock system of this invention allows for a means of connection of one dock frame section with another at any portion along the dock frame in order to build a dock of any desired configuration.
The dock system which accomplishes each of the above described advantages, as well as other advantages, will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows below.